Not an Act of God: The Katrina Conspiracy
by racle
Summary: Inspired by the recent Hurricane Katrina. Eight years after the fall of Voldemort, Harry and his friends are called to investigate an unnatural hurricane in America, and uncover a dark force rising in the Far East.


Author's Note:

I've gotten a few encouraging reviews, although mostly flames, for posting a Katrina fic.** I apologize to anyone who was offended by the content of the story.** **That was not my intention**, and yes, perhaps I should have waited before posting such a story. One reviewer suggested that I warn readers of the content and its potential to offend, and this is the warning. If you are one of the thousands, or millions, of people affected by Hurricane Katrina, I sympathize with you. To those of you who suggested that I watch the news, I have been doing so. It is a great tragedy to see so many dead and suffering, but I think the bigger tragedy is that the human suffering could have been prevented. If only the dikes had been built for a category 5 hurricane, or if only New Orleans's evacuation plan had been followed, many people may not have been trapped in attics or stuck in the Superdome.

I've gotten even more flames just for pointing that out; as one reviewer pointed out, "Perhaps if people would have seen my city for what it is, a complicated and beautiful place that is home to hundreds of thousands of people, not just a place for people to get drunk, we may have had the money to do the "simple" things you suggest to prevent this. It is not so much your story that upsets me as much as your lack of understanding of the situation and your apparent belief that the people of the city just half assed their way around a problem that could be easily solved." Now, I have not seen New Orleans in its beautiful, undamaged state (which I hope it will be restored to) but I understand that many people in New Orleans were impoverished, and I believe the government should have done more to protect them. The people did not have the resources to reinforce the dikes, and many residents were tired of repeated evacuations.

If anyone feels insulted, I apologize; that was not my intention. All we can do now, despite hindsight, is to do what we can to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina, and grieve for the lost. I appreciate that the grieving process takes time to complete, and if you are still grieving, you may wish to wait until you have finished before reading this story. It is my hope that governments at all levels learn from this terrible disaster and that from now on, they may show foresight in planning public works to protect population centers as much as possible.

For those people who were interested in this story, the story will remain on the site; for those who were angered, please accept my apology and feel free to click the back button now and return if and when you are ready.

As for the charges of racism, it was also unintended. The (mis)conduct of wizards does NOT reflect in the slightest upon their Muggle counterparts. Few British civilians today share the beliefs of the Death Eaters; likewise, very few Chinese civilians today are interested in causing natural disasters or taking over the world.

A few last things, if you are still reading: 1) The majority of the flamers did not leave a signed review. However, as I recognize that I did offend many people, I will not remove the anonymous flames. My "taste" is a bit unconventional, and again I'm sorry if it was bad taste for you. 2) It's unfortunate that the hurricane fell where it did on the name list. I think "Katrina" is a beautiful name, and she does not deserve to be forever associated in history with the worst natural disaster of the United States.

End Author's Note

* * *

Chapter 1: Another Part of the World 

Most of the wizarding world was at peace, although violence plagued the Muggle world. However, it was an uneasy peace. All eyes were anxiously upon Great Britain, which was undergoing a fierce civil war. Despite vast amounts of secret aid from mainland Europe, the British government seemed close to toppling. The world-renowned light wizard and Hogwarts Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, had been killed, and the tolerant wizards of the world pinned their hopes on the heroic guerrilla campaign of the Order of the Phoenix.

However, while the British Civil War was drawing the world's attention, another threat was gathering slowly in another section of the planet. Voldemort was the pre-eminent Dark Lord in the world, but he too had his rivals, in distant parts of the world where he did not yet have the strength to reach. One such rival was the premier of wizarding China, Chen Neiquan. It was on this day, June 29, 1997, that the largest Dark Magic research effort in history was launched in the laboratories of the Wizarding Chinese government.

For eight long years, a team of researchers, dedicated to the cause of destroying the Muggle world, toiled inside one of the lowest underground levels of the massive Ministry of Magic bunker in Beijing, China. Finally, on August 14, 2005, their experiments with magic bore fruit.

--------August 14, 2005--------

In one of the lowest underground levels of the massive Ministry of Magic bunker in Beijing, China, a young man rushed excitedly into a cubicle.

"It worked!" he shouted (in Chinese), "Our experiment succeeded! We can control weather!"

The other man in the cubicle, who was sitting in a wooden chair behind a desk, looked up.

"That is very good, Professor Jian. Do we have a test system for it?"

"Yes, our agent in Jamaica has reported that the Atlantic hurricane season is beginning. If we successfully strengthen one of these storms, it may kill a thousand or more Muggles. Of course, the wizard population in that area will be able to escape."

"Good. What have the Divinators forecasted?"

"I don't know, Premier Chen."

"I'll call them." The man called Chen turned to the opportunely located fireplace and threw in a small pinch of floo. "Weather Office!"

"Sir?" A bespectacled, wiry, frail-looking man responded.

"Any strong tropical storms scheduled in the Atlantic this month?"

"A few. In one week, a tropical storm will strike America from the southern Gulf of Mexico coast. It should produce limited damage to Muggle cities in the area and may cause minor flooding."

"That will work. Thank you!"

Premier Chen pulled his head from the fire and turned back to Jian. "We'll send out agents tomorrow. Find that storm and try our new magic."

Jian saluted and rushed from the cubicle.

-------August 24, 2005-------

A small wooden ship plowed through the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. It was an unnerving sight, a vessel with low wooden sides topped by regularly spaced cannons and two tall masts fitted with blood-red painted bamboo sails. The vessel carried no flag.

Ahead, there was a gathering of clouds on the horizon.

"That is our storm. Begin the spell!" Jian ordered.

A group of wizards, including Jian, stood on the forecastle of the vessel, in a circlearound a specially prepared mortar. They began to chant an incantation in ancient Chinese. Jian took all their wands and grabbed them in a bundle, pointing the whole bundle into the base of the cannon. A red pulse shot from the cannon, landing in the sea in the distance.

No one was under that storm; if there had been anyone, they would have noticed that the water had suddenly become noticeably warmer.

The wizards on the ship chanted another, shorter incantation in Chinese, pointing all their wands at Jian's own wand. The wand transfigured into a massive five-foot-long fan. Jian took the long, wood handle in both hands and swiped the fan once. A powerful wind instantly picked up, blowing towards the darkening clouds on the horizon.

"Set a course after the storm," Jian ordered, "Set up the cameras and omnioculars. Make an entry in the log: 'Operation complete, observation began at 1500, August 24.'"

Two different "Aye, sir"s were heard as the different crewmen went to carry out his orders.

--------August 31, 2005---------

The red-sailed ship, invisible to the Muggles (whose historians would have recognized it as a 16th-century Chinese junk), sailed towards the coast of the United States.

Jian ordered his men to set out for shore and examine the damage. They did, splitting up in six boats with oars that were charmed to row without human assistance and rowing off towards the coast.

A sight of total devastation greeted them. The dozens of residential houses in wizarding New Orleans were floating in deep water where the city had once stood. Nearly all of the Muggle section of the city was drowned to its rooftops, and a large part of the Muggle levees in the north of the city were gone. All around the wizard sailors, Muggles stranded on rooftops cried out for help. They, of course, could not see the wizards or their boats.

Jian's men took out their cameras and began to record the damage—the results of their successful experiment.

-------September 3, 2005-------

Across the Atlantic Ocean, the hero of the wizarding world, Harry Potter, was sound asleep in his large house in the countryside. Despite being 25 years old already, he still tended to sleep late in the morning, unless his Auror duties forced him out of bed early.

A pelting sound was heard at the window of the Potters' bedroom; an owl was attempting to deliver a piece of parchment. It appeared to be one of the Ministry owls. Floating on the bed, Ginny was already awake (since she no longer needed sleep at all) but was unable to open the window. She remembered what Merlin had said to her shortly after she had jumped in front of a Killing Curse meant for Harry seven years earlier: _Being a ghost has its disadvantages…_

Harry managed to wake up and groaned groggily as he found his glasses and put them on. Once he did, he quickly saw the owl and opened the window to let it in. The owl dropped a Ministry parchment envelope into Harry's hands. Slowly, Harry opened it:

_Harry,_

_I contacted you by floo but you were asleep. Report to the Auror Headquarters at eight o'clock sharp for your new assignment._

_Kingsley Shacklebolt_

_Department of Magical Law Enforcement_

It was already 7:55 a.m. according to the clock hanging from the opposite wall, so Harry had no time to eat breakfast. He quickly put on his work uniform and then Apparated with Ginny to the entrance of the Ministry.

Harry quickly ran down the stairs and into the Auror briefing room, Ginny floating behind him, and burst in just as a grandfather clock in the corner struck eight. Harry saw that Ron, Hermione, Neville, and Kingsley were already there waiting for him.

"You're right on time, Harry," Kingsley said. "Please, take a seat."

Harry took one of the three remaining empty chairs and sat down.

"You will be working together on an investigation," Kingsley began, "Yesterday night we received a high-priority message from the United States Department of Magic, concerning the recent hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico, known to the Muggles as 'Katrina'. The Americans have told us that in the week before the Katrina strike, their Divinators had forecasted a relatively mild storm. However, the actual storm, as we know, was far more powerful than their predictions—enough so to break through storm wards in several wizarding towns in southeastern America and even destroy the structural reinforcement spells on the Muggle levees of New Orleans. Until this storm, no American wizard has ever died during the hurricane season. This time at least nine did. Consequently, the Department of Magic suspects magical interference with the storm."

"So another dark wizard, then?" Ron asked.

"Ah, but that's not all," Kingsley said. "After the storm, one of the wizard survivors in New Orleans reported seeing a strange ship—a two-masted ship with 'blood-red sails and a rectangular bow'."

"A Chinese junk, perhaps?" suggested Hermione.

Kingsley nodded. "That's a distinct possibility. Now you know that ships of that size are extremely difficult for even a wealthy wizard to obtain on his own—so the Department believes that whoever strengthened the storm had the help of a foreign government, possibly the Chinese Ministry of Magic. Clearly, America is not strong enough to face China alone. Now, your job is to help the Americans to trace any foreign involvement in the Katrina disaster. We will need proof of Chinese involvement before we involve more governments."


End file.
